STRUCTURAL STEEL: THE SHOP-DRAWING GATE
Same critical-path physics as glazing, in tons: shop and erection drawings must be produced (AISC COSP 4.2 puts that duty on the fabricator), reviewed by the EOR, and approved before fabrication releases.
This page covers one problem. The full picture for this trade, including the other places margin leaks, is on the structural steel operating system page.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES.
Same critical-path physics as glazing, in tons: shop and erection drawings must be produced (AISC COSP 4.2 puts that duty on the fabricator), reviewed by the EOR, and approved before fabrication releases. Most approval delays trace to incomplete coordination, missing connection information, and weak internal QC, and every review cycle pushes fabrication, delivery, and the crane schedule downstream.
THE COST, SOURCED.
"Most delays in high-rise steel detailing approvals stem from incomplete coordination, missing connection information, and weak internal quality control." (AEC Associates, 2026) AISC 2026 raised the bar further: "Fabricators can no longer afford to 'assume compliance.'"
THE NUMBER TO MEASURE IT AGAINST.
Structural Steel contractors run about % net profit at $1M to $5M, rising to roughly 10% at $5M to $10M. The CFOS target at $1M to $5M is10%, set at 10 percent before taxes or 3.5 points better than your trade's average at your revenue, whichever is higher. A problem like this one lives in the distance between those two figures rather than in a loss on any single job.
Gross margin over the same bands runs % to 24%, against a CFOS target of 10%.
THE SYSTEM THAT FIXES THIS.
Billing, documentation and collections, which is where the days hide.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
